The Hall of Famer and seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star played minor-league baseball for the old St. Cloud Rox of the Northern League in 1956. And he hasn't returned since.

He was scheduled to appear at Joe Faber Field Thursday when the current incarnation of the Rox — members of the summer collegiate Northwoods League — pay tribute to those teams in the old franchise's minor-league incarnation from 1946-71.

But his wife is having health issues and Cepeda has been forced to cancel his visit.

"It's just one of those things," Rox co-owner and vice president Scott Schreiner said. "He has to do the right thing for his family. Family always comes first."

The team will still hold "Turn Back the Clock Night" as scheduled.

"We'll have throwback jerseys that are a replica of 1956 when Orlando was here," Schreiner said. "We'll have some displays with old articles and old photos. We're still going to honor those old Rox teams."

Cepeda is one of three players who passed through St. Cloud in their minor league careers and went on to become Hall of Famers. The other two — Gaylord Perry and Lou Brock — have been back over the years to make appearances for the St. Cloud River Bats, the name the franchise went by from 1997-2011.

But Cepeda — the 1958 National League rookie of the year and the 1967 National League MVP — has yet to return.